Torontonians confirmed the popularity of the newly opened Royal Ontario Museum over the holidays by breaking all previous attendance records for the venerable institution. ROM spokesperson Francisco Alvarez announced yesterday that more than 66,000 visitors came to the ROM between December 26th. and January 6th. After suffering through an array of negative critical reviews, the ROM is proving that Libeskind’s Crystal is just the kind of cultural spectacle that entices people to a museum. Of course, the ROM’s exceptional collections are the real draw.

Importantly, 2,200 new members signed up over the holidays bringing the ROM’s membership up to 31,000 area households. That number just does not seem high enough as far as Reading Toronto is concerned. With more than 5 million people in the GTA, the newly reinvented ROM should be able to double that membership in the next few years.

Congratulations to William Thorsell, Daniel Libeskind, and the ROM’s curatorial staff for making this great museum a critical part of the Toronto experience.

In case you missed it, here is how the Crystal took shape--in fast forward: